The administration of enteral feeding formulas to patients and under non-hospital or medical supervision requires systems that are relatively fail proof and easy to administer by the lay public. During administration it is particularly desirable to maintain sterility of the formula throughout the delivery process. Heretofore, many systems have been developed which require care in wiping the end of the enteral feeding container with an appropriate cleansing solution prior to piercing the container for administration of the formula. Although such systems are simple to use for trained personnel, the systems may be inappropriately handled by other than trained personnel. This is of particular importance with the current trend of shortened hospital stays and increased home care which frequently result in untrained personnel assuming the responsibility of administering enteral feeding products to the patient. In addition, there is an ongoing need to improve enteral feeding containers and cap assemblies for use by trained personnel. While such trained personnel will ordinarily be fully familiar with procedures for applying disinfectants, time pressures and distractions may lead to errors or omissions during administration.
To date, a number of systems have been developed which attempt to provide sealed closure systems for the disposition of a variety of solutions especially parenteral solutions. Exemplary of the available closure mechanisms for parenteral solution equipment and similar systems, are those illustrated in Coanda et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,299; Reimann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,067,898; Baumann, U.S. Pat. No. 2,969,158; and St. Amand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,062.
The Coanda reference for example, discloses a parental solution container having a cap with a frangible diaphragm situated within a centrally located tube. The Reimann reference shows a parental solution system having inner and outer cap members wherein a removable metal disk is provided which, when removed, exposes an inner rubber disk. The Baumann reference uses five components including a stopper to seal the open end of the unit. So far, as understood, these and other references do not provide a simply formed sealed chamber having a disinfectant added thereto which, when opened, is adapted to expose a means for receiving an enteral tube spike.